Summer Reading 2013 6th Grade Language Arts Ms. Davis
Books: All rising sixth-graders will read the following:
1.Michael Morpurgo’s An Elephant in the Garden Lone Star Selection Morpurgo explores the meaning of storytelling by overlaying an elderly woman’s tale of her childhood against the historical background of the bombing of Dresden in World War II. Students will encounter the protagonist’s engaging tale of survival during wartime -- with an elephant as a companion!
2. Choice:__Margaret Peterson Haddix__ reading selection Haddix will be our visiting author at St. Mark’s in 2013-14. Her latest book,__Game-Changer__, is about a world where school and sports have switched places. Or you may have heard of her book,__Running Out of Time__, which tells the story of a young girl who must save her village from a scientific experiment. You may even want to read all of the books in one of her exciting series:__The Shadow Children__ or__Missing__ (suggested for advanced readers). Of course there are many others. A grade-level reading list can be found at the author’s website: __http://haddixbooks.com/visit3.html__.
Projects: 1. School-wide family heritage project (see flyer) 2. Collaborize Discussion Forums Using the discussion forum at our online classroom on Collaborize, students will have the chance to discuss their books with their classmates over the summer as they read. (Collaborize can be found at __www.collaborizeclassroom.com__ . Students will need to remember how to log in. Parents of new students can contact Ms. Davis at __sdavis@stmes.org__ to arrange for them to join our online classroom space.) All students will use continue to use their fifth-grade Collaborize accounts in order to answer a series of discussion questions about the readings. Appropriate online behavior and communication is expected -- just as we have practiced all year. Student responses should be detailed and thoughtful.
If students do not have access to the Internet over the summer or if they are new to St. Mark’s and have not yet joined our online classroom, they can respond to the discussion questions listed below in a traditional journal format.
An Elephant in the Garden Discussion Questions (posted on Collaborize) Write in complete sentences. Refer to particular details in the book as you share your ideas. Use quotations (with page citations) to support your points. 1. Why does the narrator finally decide to let her son to listen to Lizzie’s story? Why do you think we should listen to stories like hers? 2. How is Lisbeth’s family affected by the war? How do you think your family would be affected in a similar situation? 3. What importance do Marlene, Peter, and the Countess have for Lizzie’s story? 4. If we take the time to talk to adults who are older than we are, we can often gain a personal glimpse of historical events. Talk to someone older than you are, and ask him or her to share a story about how his or her life overlapped with a real historical event. Using Morpurgo’s style as a guide, write that story in a way that shares something about what happened as well as about the person who tells the story. Include narrative details, characterization, scenes, and dialogue. 5. How has listening to a personal story about history change your view of what happened?
Margaret Haddox Selection Share your impressions and thoughts as you read (rather than all at the end). Take time to describe your thinking as you read further into the book. Consider responding to some of the following questions: 1. Describe why you chose the book you did. Share your first impressions of the reading. How did these change or develop over the course of your reading? 2. What about the book captures your interest and puzzles you in some way? Why? 3. What do you think is the turning point in the book? What makes you says so? What do you learn from the story that you can apply to your own life? 4. If you could ask the author any questions about writing or about this book in particular, what would they be?
2012-2013
Welcome to the wiki for our 5th-Grade Language Arts class. This is where I will share our lessons as they develop. Please keep in mind that teaching and learning are ongoing and adaptive enterprises, so this wiki will change over time to reflect how lessons actually evolve. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me!
Note: A new page has been added to this wiki for those parents who are interested in learning more about the Student Learning Teams. I have also tidied up this wiki and reorganized the pages into Fall Semester and Spring Semester.
Independent Reading: Fall semester -- 15-20 minutes per night recommended, 60 minutes per week total AT LEAST; spring semester -- this requirement goes up to 90 minutes per week.
We are currently testing a space on Wallwisher for helping students with homework. Currently, do not use this unless you are on Team Tres. Do not use this unless your parents have expressly emailed permission to Ms. Davis for you to use.
St. Mark's Episcopal School
Fifth-grade Language Arts
Teacher Information:
Ms. Susan Davis
School: 713-667-7030, ext. 214
Cell: 713-702-3465
Email: sdavis@stmes.org
Summer Reading for Rising 6th-Graders
Summer Reading 20136th Grade Language Arts
Ms. Davis
Books:
All rising sixth-graders will read the following:
1.Michael Morpurgo’s An Elephant in the Garden
Lone Star Selection
Morpurgo explores the meaning of storytelling by overlaying an elderly woman’s tale of her childhood against the historical background of the bombing of Dresden in World War II. Students will encounter the protagonist’s engaging tale of survival during wartime -- with an elephant as a companion!
2. Choice:__Margaret Peterson Haddix__ reading selection
Haddix will be our visiting author at St. Mark’s in 2013-14. Her latest book,__Game-Changer__, is about a world where school and sports have switched places. Or you may have heard of her book,__Running Out of Time__, which tells the story of a young girl who must save her village from a scientific experiment. You may even want to read all of the books in one of her exciting series:__The Shadow Children__ or__Missing__ (suggested for advanced readers). Of course there are many others. A grade-level reading list can be found at the author’s website: __http://haddixbooks.com/visit3.html__.
Projects:
1. School-wide family heritage project (see flyer)
2. Collaborize Discussion Forums
Using the discussion forum at our online classroom on Collaborize, students will have the chance to discuss their books with their classmates over the summer as they read. (Collaborize can be found at __www.collaborizeclassroom.com__ . Students will need to remember how to log in. Parents of new students can contact Ms. Davis at __sdavis@stmes.org__ to arrange for them to join our online classroom space.) All students will use continue to use their fifth-grade Collaborize accounts in order to answer a series of discussion questions about the readings. Appropriate online behavior and communication is expected -- just as we have practiced all year. Student responses should be detailed and thoughtful.
If students do not have access to the Internet over the summer or if they are new to St. Mark’s and have not yet joined our online classroom, they can respond to the discussion questions listed below in a traditional journal format.
An Elephant in the Garden Discussion Questions (posted on Collaborize)
Write in complete sentences. Refer to particular details in the book as you share your ideas. Use quotations (with page citations) to support your points.
1. Why does the narrator finally decide to let her son to listen to Lizzie’s story? Why do you think we should listen to stories like hers?
2. How is Lisbeth’s family affected by the war? How do you think your family would be affected in a similar situation?
3. What importance do Marlene, Peter, and the Countess have for Lizzie’s story?
4. If we take the time to talk to adults who are older than we are, we can often gain a personal glimpse of historical events. Talk to someone older than you are, and ask him or her to share a story about how his or her life overlapped with a real historical event. Using Morpurgo’s style as a guide, write that story in a way that shares something about what happened as well as about the person who tells the story. Include narrative details, characterization, scenes, and dialogue.
5. How has listening to a personal story about history change your view of what happened?
Margaret Haddox Selection
Share your impressions and thoughts as you read (rather than all at the end). Take time to describe your thinking as you read further into the book. Consider responding to some of the following questions:
1. Describe why you chose the book you did. Share your first impressions of the reading. How did these change or develop over the course of your reading?
2. What about the book captures your interest and puzzles you in some way? Why?
3. What do you think is the turning point in the book? What makes you says so? What do you learn from the story that you can apply to your own life?
4. If you could ask the author any questions about writing or about this book in particular, what would they be?
=============================================================
2012-2013Welcome to the wiki for our 5th-Grade Language Arts class. This is where I will share our lessons as they develop. Please keep in mind that teaching and learning are ongoing and adaptive enterprises, so this wiki will change over time to reflect how lessons actually evolve. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me!
Note: A new page has been added to this wiki for those parents who are interested in learning more about the Student Learning Teams. I have also tidied up this wiki and reorganized the pages into Fall Semester and Spring Semester.
Overviews:
For Students
For Parents
Ongoing Projects:
"Self-Portrait as Learner" Project (also known as the "Shiva" Project): Collage and Descriptive Essay
Independent Reading: Fall semester -- 15-20 minutes per night recommended, 60 minutes per week total AT LEAST; spring semester -- this requirement goes up to 90 minutes per week.
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
We are currently testing a space on Wallwisher for helping students with homework. Currently, do not use this unless you are on Team Tres. Do not use this unless your parents have expressly emailed permission to Ms. Davis for you to use.
http://wallwisher.com/wall/4ggcystnj8
Here is another test in padlet, which is what wallwisher has become.
http://padlet.com/wall/1dt262baj2